Why Go From Technical Director To Coach?

When Alexi Lalas learned that Brian Bliss had been named the Crew’s interim coach, he was
surprised.

It wasn’t that Lalas was concerned about Bliss’ coaching abilities. Rather, the ESPN analyst
wondered, why would Bliss want the job after spending the last six years as the team’s technical
director?

“To hear Brian talk about this is what he wants to do, I am happy that he’s come to that
conclusion but I question why would you have somebody in the technical director position who wasn’t
100 percent committed to the technical director position as I define it,” Lalas said. “That, to me,
is surprising, although maybe Brian saw the writing on the wall and recognizes that the head coach
position is the best possible chance he has of continuing, and I can completely respect that and
understand that.”

As the technical director, Bliss was responsible for helping to shape the Crew’s roster. Among
his crowning achievements was last year’s signing of designated player Federico Higuain. But when
the Crew fired coach Robert Warzycha after a 1-0 loss to Seattle at the beginning of the month,
Bliss was approached about taking the reins of the team on an interim basis with the chance to
permanently land the job. He is currently fulfilling both roles, but Bliss made no bones about his
desire to land the coaching job when he was publicly introduced on Labor Day.

So why the desire to move to a less-secure position within the technical staff?

“It’s a challenge that I’ve always enjoyed,” Bliss said. “I think I have more to offer on the
field. Not that I can’t offer it off the field with the job that I was doing before but I think I
can make a bigger impact on the organization by being on the field. Look, I’ve spent pretty much my
whole life in the locker room with a team and that’s where I’m probably most comfortable. Yeah, it’s
more security the other way but I can’t live my life on the sideline (as a metaphor).

“That’s why I’m gearing for the job, because I think that I can make an impact and have an
influence.”

Crew president and general manager Mark McCullers said the club will examine the team’s front
office structure once the season comes to a close. The technical director position as it once stood
when Warzycha was on staff might no longer exist once the Crew names a permanent coach, McCullers
said.

Lalas, who has been president and general manager for three different MLS teams after a stellar
playing career, said new investor-operator Anthony Precourt’s takeover of the Crew could revitalize
the team’s fortunes.

“I think it’s exciting,” Lalas said. “From a personal perspective, I think it’s a wonderful
opportunity for Anthony and for the entire organization to sit down and map out and decide what
they want to be. The fact that he is at least initially going to be much more visible and hands-on,
I think that’s a good thing. I think that goes along with the trend of owners in MLS at least for
the majority being there and being on hand and taking an active role in this club that they are
spending money on. I think that’s a positive thing.”

Whether it proves to be a positive thing for Bliss’ future on the sideline remains to be seen.
It’s often said that coaches are hired to be fired, but Bliss said this opportunity was one he
could not pass up regardless of risk.

“It is a risk involved,” he said. “You’re hired and eventually you’re going to get fired becuase
you’re never going to stay in any one place far too long. You hope you do enough good work in one
location and have enough results and a resume of work that you can move to another job. Yes, it’s
an inconvenience to me, to my family, absolutely, but my family is very good and supportive and
understanding of the risks involved.”

And as for the Crew as a whole, Lalas said he hopes this is the start of something big.

“My thought in general about Columbus it that it’s lost its way,” he said. “It has lost the
identity that it had. When I think of Columbus I no longer have a good idea of what this team looks
like, what I’m going to get from Columbus. When I think of Columbus I no longer have a defining
character, personality, person, player that really represents what that organization is about and
it’s all in the context of what Columbus has been and I do believe can still be. Hopefully new
ownership comes in and says, ‘Hey, this is what we want to do.’

“Don’t for a second think that I don’t understand the challenges that Mark and that organization
have are the same as other markets. It’s apples and oranges and they’ve done a tremendous job of
navigating some very difficult and challenging waters, but this is just my impression from the
outside.”